Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oklahoma Insurance Claims from May Tornadoes Top 70K
Jun 19 2013 // Insurance claims filed in response to a major tornado outbreak in May jumped to 70,782 on June 18, with insurance payments reaching $561,976,781, the Oklahoma Insurance Department announced. The department broke the claims...
Texas Windstorm Insurance Group Expects Surplus
Jun 19 2013 // The nonprofit, state-supervised property insurance agency for coastal Texas counties is expected to shore up its finances by the end of the year, the group told a state House panel on June 17. Pete Gise, who handles the...
Monsoon Triggers Floods in India’s Himalayas, Killing 138
Jun 19 2013 // Air force helicopters and rescue teams searched for survivors in northern India after days of monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides, killing at least 138 people and leaving hundreds missing. Parts of...
NE Kansas Counties Recovering After Tornado Damage
Jun 18 2013 // Northeast Kansas counties that were hit by a tornado and flooding in late May are waiting to hear if storms caused enough damage to make the region eligible for state or federal aid. An EF-2 tornado hit Marshall County on...
New Residential Earthquake Claim Program Introduced by American Claims Management and QBE
Jun 18 2013 // San Diego, CA, 06/18/13 – American Claims Management Inc. (ACM), a national third party administrator (TPA), is pleased to announce that it has been appointed as the TPA for a new residential earthquake claim program for...
Claims Pros’ Own Survival Skills Tested in Oklahoma Tornadoes
Jun 17 2013 // Michael Pelonero came to Moore to help victims of the May 20th tornado. But he hadn’t planned on trying to outrun one. When a massive EF-5 twister cut a swath through the central Oklahoma suburb of Moore, it left 24...
More than 63K Insurance Claims so Far from St. Louis Tornadoes
Jun 17 2013 // The major insurance companies serving the St. Louis area have received more than 6,300 claims from residents with damage from tornadoes that struck the area on May 31, according to Missouri insurance regulators. The...
New Maps Show Less High Ground In Oregon Tsunami
Jun 17 2013 // New tsunami maps being reviewed in northwest Oregon show there’s less high ground than previously thought if residents have to flee the most serious earthquake and tsunami projected. The Daily Astorian reported that...
Deadly Oklahoma Tornado Widest on Record, Rare EF5
Jun 17 2013 // The deadly tornado that struck near Oklahoma City at the end of May had a record-breaking width of 2.6 miles and was the second top-of-the-scale EF5 twister to hit the area in less than two weeks, the National Weather...
U.S., Global Natural Disasters Exact Heavy Toll in May
Jun 17 2013 // Severe weather in May caused an estimated $4 billion in insured damage in the U.S. alone and billions more in economic losses around the globe, according to an Aon Benfield report. The Global Catastrophe Recap by Aon...
Midwest Pelted With Rain, Wind, Hail, Tornadoes
Jun 14 2013 // A massive line of storms packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds rolled through the Midwest on June 12 in the evening, driving people into basements for shelter, tearing down power lines and causing flooding in...
Colorado Wildfire Destroys At Least 360 Homes
Jun 13 2013 // A wildfire in Colorado has destroyed at least 360 homes, topping last year’s record-setting Waldo Canyon Fire in a nearby wooded area that destroyed 346 homes. The tally of lost homes was a dramatic increase from a...
Colorado Wildfire Destroys 92 Homes
Jun 13 2013 // Sheriff’s officials released a preliminary list Wednesday showing the Black Forest Fire northeast of Colorado Springs, Colo. has destroyed at least 92 homes and damaged five more. The fire was among several that...
Best Affirms RenaissanceRe; Top Layer Re Ratings; Outlooks Stable
Jun 13 2013 // RenRe and Affiliates A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A+’ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. (RenRe) and...
Airmic, Willis Terrorism Review Explores Global Insurance Schemes
Jun 12 2013 // “Several of the world’s long-established terrorism insurance schemes were set up to deal with a different terrorism threat than is predominant today,” according to a new technical guide produced by...
Claims from Late May Oklahoma Tornadoes Top 60K
Jun 11 2013 // Insurance claims filed in Oklahoma following the tornado outbreak at the end of May have jumped to 60,308 with insurance payments reaching $470,323,299, the top state insurance regulator reported. “These numbers are...
Washington Files Suit To Recoup Wildfire Costs
Jun 11 2013 // Washington state has filed suit against two companies to try to recover firefighting costs from a blaze that destroyed 61 homes and blackened 36 square miles last year. A state investigation into the cause of the Taylor...
Can Missouri Schools Withstand a Severe Storm?
Jun 11 2013 // Buildings in the St. Joseph, Mo., School District can withstand winds up to 90 mph. None are prepared to withstand the likes of an EF5 tornado, with winds of more than 200 mph, which devastated parts of Oklahoma City and...
Early Tornado Season in North Dakota Prompts Safety Warnings
Jun 11 2013 // Western North Dakota has already had three tornadoes in June, and a meteorologist warns that severe weather might be the norm this summer. Patrick Ayd of the National Weather Service tells the Forum News Service that last...
Post-Tornado, Looters Come from Afar to Oklahoma
Jun 11 2013 // Authorities say looters have come from as far away as New York and Virginia to steal from victims of last month’s tornado in Moore, Okla. The Oklahoman reports that police arrested one man from Elmhurst, N.Y., and...
